The Democrats have done an outstanding job moving through the House impeachment hearings. Donald Trump tried to stonewall them at every move, refusing to honor subpoenas for evidence and staff — even former staff. The witness have been compelling, and a new CNN poll unearthed a surprising outcome.
Prior to the five days of televised public hearings right at 50 percent of the American public wanted to impeach and remove the sitting president of these United States. CNN’s poll indicated that percentage had not moved off of the needle.
People may want to jump to the conclusion that the hearings were not successful in changing minds. Conversely, the hearings may have deepened their attitudes toward impeachment, and half of Americans already realized the danger of a Trump White House.
There were 43 percent who were against impeachment and removal, and that number did not shift either. The partisan divide may be to blame for that. There was a deep canyon of difference between the two parties’ thinking, a full 80 percentage points.
It got more interesting when it came to independents. There was a negligible difference, 47 percent for impeachment and 45 percent against it. The reason that nothing moved was that 90 percent of each party “feel strongly in favor or against it.” Even the presidents’ approval numbers held firm since the October polls with 42 percent approving of him and 54 percent disapproving.
Some numbers were moving though. The interviewees believed Trump improperly used his office for political gain, 53 percent to a previous 49 percent. Democrats worried that Americans were not involved in politics. However, the CNN poll found that 56 percent of them believed the president used his Ukraine operation to find evidence against the Joe Biden family versus fighting Ukrainian corruption.
The interviewees were equally divided about whether there was evidence for the House to impeach the commander-in-chief, 48 percent yes and 47 percent no. A full 52 percent of the public believed Democrats “exercised their constitutional powers properly” during the impeachment hearing, and 40 percent disagreed.
There was 33 percent indicating that the Republicans in Congress were defending Trump too much, 17 percent too little, and 41 percent just right. Among the GOP members, 64 percent thought the inquiry was “about right,” and 24 percent said they should go further.
Forty percent of the interviewees followed the impeachment inquiry “very closely.” In that group, 53 percent voted yes and 46 percent no.
The president’s approval rating has also held steady since October: 42% say they approve, 54% disapprove.
The gender gap has been widening. Women had a 20 percent difference from men when it came to impeachment and Trump’s approval rating. Men approved 52 percent, women 32 percent.
SSRS conducted the CNN Poll from November 21 through 24. A live individual interviewed a random sampling of 1,007 adults on landlines of by cellphones. The margin of error was 3.7 +/- percentage points.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
